1986

The band is on the road, mostly.

1987

The self-released album Rowwen Hèze comes out.

1988

Rowwen Hèze release the single Bestel Mar - based on Los Lobos' Anselma - which gets a fair amount of airplay on Dutch national radio. They are nicknamed Los Limbos, which both refers to Los Lobos and their home province of Limburg.

1989

The group tours the Netherlands with the Mexican/American accordion player Flaco Jimenez.

1990

The group signs to HKM/CNR and releases the single 'n Man en 'n Vrouw ('A Man And A Woman'), which is taken from the album Blieve Loepe ('Keep Walking'). The album is a commercial disappointment.

1991

1992

Bestel Mar is re-released and becomes a national hit. The group plays at the Pinkpop festival. The album In De Wei ('In The Meadow') is released and enters the charts.

1993

The group plays at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The album Station America is released and the group receives a Zilveren ('Silver') Harp music award.

1994

Together with Flaco Jimenez the group releases the maxi CD The Moon Is Mine.

1995

The single 'T Roei Klied hits the charts. The album Zondag In Het Zuiden ('Sunday In The South') is a sell-out success. The single Zondag In Het Zuiden enters the charts. The group celebrates its tenth anniversary with the publication of a book called Splinter van de ziel ('Splinter of a soul'). The live single De Neus Umhoeg ('The Nose In The Air') is a hit.

1996

1997

The successful album Water, Lucht en Liefde ('Water, Air and Love') is released and receives favourable reviews. The band plays at the Parkpop and Lowlands festivals and also receives a Gouden Notenkraker ('Golden nutcracker') award.

1998

Rowwen Hèze is awarded a Gouden ('Golden') Harp music award. Zondag In 't Zuiden goes platinum. The band travels to Texas for some gigs.

1999

The band performs at the Pinkpop festival. The compilation album 't Beste Van Twee Werelden ('The Best Of Both Worlds') reaches number 7 in the Album Top 100. The single Auto, Vliegtuug ('Car, Airplane') fails to make an impact.

2000

The album Vandaag ('Today') is released and the band perform at the Parkpop festival. Rowwen Hèze celebrate their fifteenth anniversary and record a single with US band Los Lobos.

2001

The band tours the Netherlands.

2002

The new album is recorded in the summer. 't Beste Van Twee Werelden goes platinum. The group will play three try-out shows in December.

2003

The single Vur De Kerk ('In Front Of The Church'), released on January 20 marks Rowwen Hèze's V2 label debut. In April new album Dageraad ('Dawn') comes out. Apart from playing at the Vrienden van Amstel Live dates (January 28-February 2) in the Rotterdam Ahoy', for the first time in its history in February the band plays at Amsterdam's highly prestigious Carré theatre. On November 15 the DVD Rowwen Hèze in het Theater (recorded in Roermond on February 10) is launched at a gig in hometown America in attendance of 6.000 fans from across the country.

2004

In January the album Holland America Lijn, is released. It is a Dutch-language album by the (one-off) duo Jack Poels and Leon Giesen (Toontje Lager and Captain Gumbo). Another DVD sees the light, a live recording of Rowwen Hèze of its home show of the previous year. On December 4, Rowwen Hèze premiers its theatre show Andere Wind ('Different Wind') which will last until March 5, 2005. The band plays songs in new arrangements, made by Nard Reijnders. In December the same-titled live CD, recorded on November 14 at Mol, Belgium-based Galaxy Studio's, comes out.

2005

Rowwen Hèze is featured in a TV commercial of Gulpener lager. The Limburg-based brewery produces a special Rowwen Hèze lager, which features the band logo on the bottle. The 20th anniversary is celebrated with three anniversary concerts attended by 16.000 people in home village America, the sampler Kilomeaters ('t Beste Van 20 Joar Rowwen Hèze) and the same-titled anniversary book, compiled by Jan-Willem Anholts and Jan Brands.

2006

On February 10 and 11 the band plays a mega anniversary concert at Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall. In the spring the band works on a new album called Rodus & Lucius. On May 28 the band kicks off a series of open air concerts with brass bands and orchestras. On August 11 the single Vechte, Valle En Opstoan ('Fighting, Falling And Getting Up'), the first track of the new album is released. Rodus & Lucius enters the charts at number one of the Dutch Album Top 100. On December 11 Rodus & Lucius receives an Original Rembrandt, an award for albums that feature original Dutch compositions and/or lyrics. On November 10 and 11 the band plays the traditional 'closing concerts' in their hometown of America. Support act is local band Three Amigo's.

2007

The single Blaad An De Palm (February) is the title track of a local TV series. The single Droemvlucht (April) is a duet in the local dialect and in Frisian sung by Jack Poels and Frisian fado singer Nynke Laverman. Jack Poels is appointed Companion of the Order of Orange-Nassau. Op 27 June, the 50th birthday of Jack Poels, Het Lied Voor Limburg (The Song For Limburg) is released as an ode to the province of Limburg and as a gift to all the people of Limburg. The song is produced by Tren van Enckevort and recorded with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and the Venlo Vocal Ensemble.

2008

Starting February, Rowwen Hèze goes into the theatres with the programme Saus (Welcome To The Saus). The band is accompanied by six guest musicians: Mo'Jones (piano, Hammond, mouth organ, percussion, backing vocals), Emil Szarkowicz (violin, clarinet, saxophone, piano), Linda Smeets (backing vocals, saxophone, piano), Pieter Vermeulen (steel guitar and various other string instruments), Hub Boesten (trumpet, trombone, tuba) and Simone Cox (backing vocals and percussion). On 22 and 23 April recordings are made for a CD and DVD release. The show is also released on Blu-ray. The show is also broadcast on digital TV channel EXQI. The DVD (November) is preceded early October by a live album. The single Vur Altied Is Vurbeej (For Ever Is Gone) is a duet between Jack Poels and singer Linda Smeets.

2009

Rowwen Hèze receives golden records for the albums Dageraad (Dawn, 2003), Kilomeaters (2005) and Rodus & Lucius (2006). The albums are presented by André Rieu. At Whitsun the band is on the bill of the Pinkpop festival. Tren van Enckevort produces Open Boek (Open Book), an album by Jan Rietman. Jack Poels contributes. The CD Langs De Weg (By The Side Of The Road) is an album based on the poems that Jack Poels has written for local newspaper De Limburger.

Verrassingsconcert: 24/09/10, Brabanthallen, 's Hertogenbosch

In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.